The winning titles will be showcased at the world’s largest book fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/01/2009 -- GuideGecko.com, the innovative publishing platform and bookstore for travel, lifestyle and entertainment guides is pleased to announce the winners of the first GuideGecko International Writing Contest. Budding authors from all over the world have submitted 67 independent travel, lifestyle or entertainment guides within the 5 week contest.

The 1st Prize is awarded to Mr. Karl I. Muller of Rancho Palos Verdes near Los Angeles, California, for his guide titled "Budget Travel in Japan", garnering a total of 295 votes. Mr. Muller, now living in Seoul, Korea, is awarded a personal trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2009 to promote his title.

The 2nd prize goes to Mr. Oliver Hickfang from Bochum, Germany for "PocketTravel Chengdu", his personal contribution to promote Chengdu to travelers worldwide in an effort to help overcome the tragedies of the recent disastrous earthquake. "PocketTravel Chengdu" received 198 votes. Ms. Anisah Ahmad from Singapore wins 3rd prize for "Hong Kong: A Diamond in the Rough", garnering 128 votes. GuideGecko will feature the top three titles at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The 4th and 5th prize goes to Naleeza for "Malta" and Ms. Lorraine Koh for "Stargazing in Seoul", who win Lonely Planet travel guides of their choice. Winners have been selected by online voting on www.GuideGecko.com.

"I am extremely excited and happy to have won this contest, competing with entries from all over the world.  I look forward to attending the book fair, giving me international exposure in the process.  This is a wonderful opportunity to advance my writing career," says Karl I. Muller, the 1st Prize winner and author of "Budget Travel in Japan".

Mr. Muller will be promoting his winning title at the Frankfurt Book Fair from 14 to 18 October 2009. Frankfurt is the largest and most important book fair in the world, attracting over 10,000 journalists and 299.000 visitors. The winning guides will be showcased on GuideGecko's booth B100 in Hall 3.0, starting point of the official book fair press tour. All winning and participating guides are available at www.guidegecko.com. Detailed contest results can be found at www.guidegecko.com/writing-contest-submissions.

About GuideGecko
GuideGecko is an innovative publishing platform and travel bookstore for travel, lifestyle and entertainment guides. GuideGecko currently offers more than 2200 guides on 169 countries and 270 cities and regions around the world. All well-known series are available, including Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Insight Guides, along with a large variety of less conventional titles such as Hedonist's Guides and Trailblazer, amongst many others.

GuideGecko invites casual writers, bloggers and established authors to publish and sell their own guides on www.GuideGecko.com. GuideGecko makes such guides available as PDF downloads and as printed books/booklets. Publishing is free and authors earn 50-75% on every copy sold. Become a writer and get published on GuideGecko!

For media enquiries, please contact:

Daniel Quadt
Telephone: +65 94555974
Email: media_@_guidegecko.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Winner Receives Trip to Frankfurt Book Fair and Jump-Start into Travel Writing Career

Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2009 -- GuideGecko, the innovative publishing platform and travel bookstore for travel, lifestyle and entertainment guides today launches its first international writing contest in conjunction with the world's largest book fair in Frankfurt, Germany. From now to September 24, authors from all over the world can submit their own travel, lifestyle or entertainment guides, and the winning titles will be showcased on the fair. The top prize is a personal trip to the fair in October 2009.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for any writer to meet renowned publishers, pitch story ideas, and expose their titles to over 300,000 visitors and 10,000 journalists. Hall 3, where the winning titles will be displayed, is probably the most lively hall on the whole fair - bringing great exposure to the author and the books that are on display. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for authors to gain recognition and exposure in the publishing industry", says Daniel Quadt, Founder and Managing Director of GuideGecko.

The contest is open to everybody, from casual writers to bloggers and established authors. Topics can span from anything and everything under the sun, as long as they are travel, lifestyle or entertainment related. With no page limit, the authors have the freedom and flexibility to write their own guides the way they want. Submissions can be new titles as well as existing titles previously published on GuideGecko or elsewhere.

Upon submission, the guides will be published instantly and listed on GuideGecko's front page where they receive maximum visibility. Customers and viewers can choose to vote for and even order these guides immediately. Participation in the contest is free and the authors will receive full royalties and retain the copyrights of their guides published on www.guidegecko.com.

The winners of the 'GuideGecko Writing Contest' will be decided through online voting which starts immediately. The first prize is a personal trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair for the winning author. In addition, the top 3 titles will be showcased on the fair. Other prizes include a selection of Lonely Planet travel guides and subscriptions to travel magazines.

Closing date is 24 September 2009 and prize winners will be announced on 25 September 2009. For more information and to enter the contest, please visit http://www.guidegecko.com/writing-contest.

About GuideGecko
GuideGecko is the innovative publishing platform and travel bookstore for travel, lifestyle and entertainment guides. GuideGecko currently offers more than 2200 guides on 169 countries and 270 cities and regions around the world. All well-known series are available, including Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Insight Guides, along with a large variety of less conventional titles such as Hedonist's Guides and Trailblazer, amongst many others.

GuideGecko invites casual writers, bloggers and established authors to publish and sell their own guides on http://www.GuideGecko.com. GuideGecko makes such guides available as PDF downloads and as printed books/booklets. Publishing is free and authors earn 50-75% on every copy sold. Become a writer and get published on GuideGecko!

For more information, please visit http://www.GuideGecko.com. For photos, logos and screenshots, please visit http://www.GuideGecko.com/media.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Daniel Quadt
Email: media_at_guidegecko.com
Telephone: +65 94555974

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm